{"id":6814,"date":"2019-12-30T08:22:20","date_gmt":"2019-12-30T16:22:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.canirank.com\/blog\/?p=6814"},"modified":"2020-11-25T10:49:03","modified_gmt":"2020-11-25T18:49:03","slug":"how-to-identify-a-content-gap-with-keyword-research","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.canirank.com\/blog\/how-to-identify-a-content-gap-with-keyword-research\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Identify a Content Gap with Keyword Research"},"content":{"rendered":"

Angie is in charge of developing new content for her employer. She\u2019s new on the job and wants to come up with something unique; something timely that will set her work apart from the content that\u2019s been previously posted on her employer\u2019s blog. But that\u2019s the problem: her employer has so much content on their existing blog that Angie, and many content specialists like her, don\u2019t know where to begin. She wants to come up with something new and fresh, and she doesn\u2019t want to write duplicate content.<\/p>\n

Angie\u2019s situation is not unique. Oftentimes, as content specialists, when we dive into a new blog, we\u2019re eager to get started on what are usually popular topics. We get stuck in a cycle of \u201cHow to…\u201d and \u201cWhat are\u2026\u201d posts because that\u2019s what we\u2019re used to seeing. They might have performed well for you when you first got into the industry, but now they\u2019re a hard sell. You need to find new topics fast, but more importantly, you need to find topics that access your demographic and provide new insights to a tired results page.<\/p>\n

This is where content gap analysis and keyword research<\/a> comes into play.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s in a Content Gap Analysis?<\/span><\/strong><\/h2>\n

Conventionally, when looking for content to cover for a blog, it\u2019s normal to head to Google and see what your competitors are writing about. If you\u2019re an SEO blog, there\u2019s a high chance you haven\u2019t covered everything there is to know about SEO. Topics change all the time, and new trends<\/a> bring in new ideas and questions your customers and clients may be having.<\/p>\n

Oftentimes, in order to find out what your competitors are covering, you can spend hours upon hours scouring their blogs or social media pages. This method is tried-and-true; it allows you to stay up-to-date on competitors while also getting a good lay of the land in terms of possible new content.<\/p>\n

However, is this really the most-effective method?<\/p>\n

You\u2019re a busy marketer; you don\u2019t have all the hours in a day to find content ideas manually, nor do you know off-hand your probability of ranking for a topic. This is where intuitive keyword research tools like CanIRank\u2019s Opportunities tool comes in. Using AI, it brings key content ideas, specific to your business, that you haven\u2019t covered – straight to your dashboard.<\/p>\n

This is where keyword research becomes important. When conducting initial keyword research for a content gap, it\u2019s important to ask yourself the FBD question: is my content First, Better, or Different than anything currently out there? Not all content will cover all three categories, but it\u2019s important to keep these questions at the top of your mind at the ideation phase. Even while looking through competitor sites, the idea isn\u2019t to just glean new knowledge; it\u2019s to get ideas on how you can translate those topics into your blog, and find a way to tell the story in a new fashion.<\/p>\n

Which method suits you best? Let\u2019s take a closer look at how to identify content gaps manually and intuitively with CanIRank’s DIY SEO tool<\/a>.<\/p>\n

How to Identify a Content Gap Manually<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n

When trying to figure out what content you should create for a brand, the manual method may be your first choice. There are two ways you can approach this:<\/p>\n

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Firstly, many content specialists begin by searching their blog to take stock of content that\u2019s already been covered. If you want to go in-depth, try heading into Analytics and find your best performing blogs. This will give you an ideal topic starting point and a keyword group to pursue.<\/p>\n<\/div>